God versus Gay?

In anticipation of Tuesday’s vote in North Carolina, Leonard Pitts wrote a column entitled, “Don’t Hide Behind The Bible”. The subject is Amendment One, adding to the NC state constitution the following sentence: “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” Same-sex marriage is already illegal by statute.

Pitts wishes those proponents of the amendment based on Biblical understanding “could spend a little quality time with Matthew Vines… a Christian, a 22-year-old Harvard undergrad raised in a conservative evangelical church in Kansas. He is also gay and says he grew up being taught that the Bible condemns his sexual orientation. He took two years off from school to research and study whether or not that assertion is true.”

“The result is ‘The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality.’ It’s a video…of a speech he gave in March at a church in Wichita that has become a minor sensation. Small wonder. Vines’ speech is a masterwork of scriptural exegesis and a marvel of patient logic, slicing and dicing with surgical precision the claim that homophobia is God ordained…

“It is fascinating stuff, and there is not nearly enough space here to do it justice, but the salient point is this: Matthew Vines is not some godless heathen lobbing bombs at Christianity from outside its walls. No, he lives inside Christianity’s walls, still holds the faith in which he was raised. So this is not an outsider’s attack. It is an insider’s plea.

“One hopes that plea is heeded. Vines’ speech is long — a little over an hour — but well worth the time, particularly for those seeking to reconcile first-century faith with 21st-century social concerns.”

The video can be found here and is embedded below. If you just want to read the piece, go to Vines’ Tumblr page.

Pitts notes: “Many in North Carolina — many around the country — are swimming against the tide of human freedom and blaming God for it.”

There’s two problems: (1) getting enough people to accept same-sex unions when they think the Bible prohibits any same-sex sexual contact and (2) As you put it, the “real Christian” problem.

But I’m going to tell you that at least a handful of my in=laws don’t consider Catholic really Christian, and have been very direct with me about it, e.g. “Why don’t you just convert all the way and become a real Christian?”

The first one might be solvable; the second one is so old it dates back to the four canonical gospels.

Truly, I don’t care who does what–and with whom. I continue to struggle with the idea of SSM equalling entitlement to ALL benefits (i.e., healthcare, etc.) when discrimination REMAINS for those of us with families and pre-existing benefit clauses. Socialism DOES GUARANTEE rights for all persons partaking in this system (including Medicare to which John and John contributed for 40+ years). No, I would not give preference John and John for healthcare when my unborn child is not covered due to pre-existing clauses or he/she is TOO OLD to be on my policy. That’s not fair, either.

If a religion is not accepting of a gay person, perhaps they can change religions. Technically, some of my family members are LOUSY representatives of our religion, so we just deal with it. My parents can’t be buried in the family cemetery because they have been ousted by the church.

I don’t see how “pre-existing” benefit clauses are discriminatory. There are a heckofa lot more things I’d like to spend three hundred some odd dollars per month on, but I choose to spend that money on health insurance so that if something happens to me I am protected.
It is discriminitory to me if someone who hasn’t shelled out the dough gets the same benefits I do.

Part of the problem with making a family is that you are then responsible for the health and well being of yourself ALONG with whatever children you created and that of your spouse. It’s getting trickier nowadays, but you always have that choice not to have a child or not to have more than one child.

The thing about gay marriage and health benefits is that there could be mega complicated issues there with starting a family. For example, if a lesbian couple wants to have a baby, that’s mandatory petri dish action at the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Should that be automatically 100% covered by insurance because lesbians biologically are attracted to only women, but two women can never create a child? Is this going to be considered a health defect? And if they cover it for lesbians, they have to cover it for gay males…and then everyone?

Chris Honeycutt — I agree. I knew many evengelical Christians who thought Catholics were going to hell. To me though, this is like arguing which is the better team, the Yankees of the Red Sox? Who cares, it’s a stupid game!

FRankly, I always thought that the only books of the bible that a Christian should read are the gospels. The Old Testement is really for a completely different religon and the rest of the New Testament is just Paul and a a couple others B.S.ing about how they think other people should act if they call themselves Christians. It is there you will find support for slavery and against gay behavior, not in the gospels themselves.

If Christians would read only the four gospels, the world, and Christianity, would be better off for it.

I don’t know about that. What about Ecclesiastes, Proverbs and Psalms? I think they teach a lot about the world as it really is, just as many ancient religions do. I’ve often wondered why Christ appeared among the Jews. Were there things in Judaism specifically that was integral to His message?

Paul’s thorny (bada-ching.) But part of being Catholic to me is recognizing that the Holy Spirit didn’t just fall asleep for two thousand years, but is real, alive and has been active for centuries. Saints and others beside Jesus are really important to me.

And pbbt on your baseball comment. Being a Cubs fan has taught me many things about acceptance. “Our faith rests in the certain hope that some day the Cubs may actually win the pennant race…” 😀

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